UK P2P sector more than doubles in size as new ‘big three’ emerges
The UK peer-to-peer lending sector’s volumes more than doubled in 2021, as a new ‘big three’ emerges of Assetz Capital, Folk2Folk and CrowdProperty.
Data from Innovate Finance has shown that the sector’s loan volumes dropped by around 40 per cent from 2019 to 2020 as the impact of the Covid crisis took hold but rose by about 120 per cent from 2020 to last year.
In 2021, the sector’s volumes was up by 40 per cent from the volumes seen pre-pandemic in 2019.
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The data showed that Assetz Capital is the UK’s largest platform, having lent £1.4bn up to 31 December last year, followed by Folk2Folk (£502m) and CrowdProperty (£177m).
The top three platforms are each based outside London (Manchester, Cornwall and Birmingham respectively) and they all lend to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and smaller property developers throughout the UK.
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Assetz Capital achieved a 35 per cent rise in loan volumes from 2019 to 2021, Folk2Folk saw a 62 per cent increase over the same period and CrowdProperty’s volumes were up by 150 per cent from 2019.
Kuflink came in fourth position, having lent £156m up to the end of last year, after which came Invest & Fund (£161m), Proplend (£143m), ArchOver (£119m), HNW Lending (£106m), Relendex (£94m) and LendingCrowd (£89m).
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“The fall in volume in 2020 was unsurprising given that most lenders paused or slowed lending in the second quarter of 2020 while the potential economic impact of the pandemic was being assessed,” said Mike Carter (pictured), head of platform lending and 36H Group at Innovate Finance.
“However, our data also shows the sector re-started lending in the second half of 2020 and bounced back strongly in 2021.
“The 2021 performance shows that P2P platforms are stronger now than pre-pandemic. The sector continues to be a meaningful participant in SME and property development lending and is capable of contributing significantly to the levelling up agenda to help finance reach underserved segments of the market.”
